IELTS Listening Test Questions

Research has shown that appearance plays a dramatic role in our first impressions about a person’s character. (Q1)We quickly make assumptions about the person’s potential for success, their suitability as a partner and many other aspects of their character the moment we lay eyes on them. As a species, it seems that we’re prone to jumping to conclusions in this way, often based on quite superficial factors. Today I’m going to go through some of the research into how these impressions from appearance are formed and the kinds of assumptions that are often made.

Firstly, it seems that a lot of first impressions (Q2)result from aspects of our appearance that are largely out of our control, such as, for example, the shape of our face and whether we’re bald or not. Some studies suggest that men with more feminine facial features, such as thinner eyebrows and a more pointy chin, are assessed as being more trustworthy than men with more masculine ones. (Q3)More masculine features, such as a square jaw, broader nose, or larger and more prominent chin, on the other hand, are associated with being more aggressive.

In another study carried out at Princeton University, researchers found that our judgements are made incredibly quickly. (Q4)They gave one group of students 100 milliseconds to rate the attractiveness, competence, likeability, aggressiveness and trustworthiness of actors’ faces, while another group was given the same task, but allowed as much time as they wanted. Surprisingly, there was very little difference between the judgments made by the group which had less time and the group which had more. It seems that our snap judgements aren’t any different from our more reasoned analysis when it comes to appearance.

Judgements about charisma also happen very quickly. A study by the university of Toronto in 2017 discovered that observers decide within as little as five seconds if a person is charismatic. They also found that superficial factors such as being attractive or not wearing glasses impacted on judgements of charisma. (Q5)What’s more, these perceptions of charisma could be used to predict people’s perceptions of leadership ability, which suggests that superficial elements of appearance could be playing a more important role in leadership contests than we may like to think.

(Q6)An earlier study, in 2012, found that the pitch of our voice can affect whether others perceive us as leaders. The University of Miami and Duke University asked participants in the study to listen to recordings of men and women saying, “I urge you to vote for me this November.” (Q7)The results showed that people were more likely to vote for a woman if she had a lower-pitched voice. The females with lower voices were perceived to be more competent and trustworthy. The study also found that participants preferred the men with lower voices but in contrast to the women, perceptions of trustworthiness weren’t affected.

Another study showed that the amount of hair we have affects impressions. (Q8)Having a shaved head would seem to make men appear more dominant. A 2012 study by the University of Pennsylvania found that “men with shaved heads were rated as more dominant than similar men with full heads of hair”. They even found that men whose hair was digitally removed were assessed as being more dominant, taller and stronger than they were when viewed with their real hair.

Perhaps less surprising is the conclusion that (Q9)the way we dress affects how much earnings potential people assume we have. In one study, university students were shown images of male models in either business or casual clothing and were then asked how successful the guys would be in a variety of jobs. The snappy dressers were expected to make more money and to get promoted more quickly.

It’s not just appearance but also smell that affects our impression of others we meet, according to research from Italian psychologist Mariella Pazzaglia. Her research suggests that we decide if someone is in our family or social group by scent. (Q10)So, if someone smells familiar, it signals to us that they are like us and we’re more likely to judge them to be unthreatening and a potential friend….